Sanitary napkin

ABSTRACT

A sanitary napkin having a fluid pervious outer cover and an inner absorbent core. The core is formed of a strip or sheet of fibrous material folded to form a three-ply pad, the lower ply being the central portion of the strip and being longer than the middle and upper plies so as to provide for a taper in the thickness of the pad. The pad is also tapered in its width. The middle ply is provided with embossed ribs for distributing fluid, while the upper ply is provided with holes therethrough for quickly delivering fluid to the middle ply and to prevent puddling. A film or sheet of liquid impervious material is disposed below the pad to prevent seepage, should the pad become overloaded.

United States Patent l 1 1 nu 3,897,784 Fitzgerald Aug. 5, 1975 SANITARY NAPKIN Primary EmminerAldrich F: Medbery s A Almrncv, Agent, or FirmKenneth A. Koch, Esq.; 75 l t H' Ft"ld,(i B' W.. i I nun m any I zgerd reen dy Murray M. Grill, Esq.; Herbert S. Sylvester. Esq. [73] Assignee: Colgate-Palmolive Company, New

York, NY. 122 Filed: July 24 I974 ABSTRACT [21] Appl. No: 49l.357 A sanitz ry napkin having a fluid pervious outer cover and an inner absorbent core. The core 18 formed of a strip or sheet of fibrous material folded to form a Cl 128/290 R? 138/334; 1'23/237 three-ply pad. the lower ply being the central portion Int. Cl. r r r t r r t v 4 .v of the trip and being longer than the and Field SealTh R upper plies so as to provide for a taper in the thickness of the pad The pad is also tapered in its width. The I References Cited middle ply is provided with embossed ribs for distrib UNITED STATES PATENTS uting fluid. while the upper ply is provided with holes lyb-lxw 7H9 Bums [28/290 R therethrough for quickly delivering fluid to the middle 2.542.909 2 1951 ot- Wet 4. l28/29t) R x P y and I0 Prawn! Puddling- A film 0r shfiet of liquid 2.731.0l4 1/1956 Hollingsworth l. 128/290 R impervious material is disposed below the pad to pre- 2.952.261) Q/Whn Burgcni .7 128/290 R vent seepage, should the pad become overloaded 1729.005 4/[973 Lee et Rli r i w v T. Bil/2X7 9 Claims, 6 Drawing Figures M %\h m SE'ILET PATENTED AUG 5 iqY5 SANITARY NAPKIN BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention This invention relates to a sanitary napkin having the characteristics of high absorbability and is capable of handling sudden fluid flows without puddling.

2. Description of the Prior Art Various types of sanitary napkins have been devised in the past having a multi-ply structure such as described in the patent to Burgeni, U.S. Pat. No. 2,952,259, for Absorbent Product. Other prior United States patents have been granted on sanitary napkins such as the patent to Glassman, US Pat. No. 3,343.54 and the patent to Jones US. Pat. No. 3.593.713. A multi-ply sanitary napkin is shown in the patent to Mathey, US. Pat. No. 2,024,976, which is provided with various openings to restrict puddling. However, none of the prior art patents dislcoses the concept of providing for a multi-ply pad in which theplies themselves are so arranged to provide for the tapering of the pad and wherein an upper ply having holes therein for rapid absorbing of fluid, while the next adjacent ply is embossed preferably with ribs or grooves for facilitating the rapid distribution of fluid from the upper ply during unexpected large and sudden flows of fluid.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION The concept ofthe present invention resides in a sanitary napkin formed from a single strip of fibrous material such as cellulose pulp, which is folded into three separate plies. The top ply is provided with holes which allow rapid absorption and prevent puddling. The middle layer is provided with longitudinal ribs by way of embossing. The bottom layer is not worked upon and between the bottom of the pad and the outer covering of fibrous fluid-pervious material is a fluid impervious film or sheet.

The pad as folded is tapered at its ends and as a result a double sanitary napkin is achieved, which is less revealing and thus more desirable than thick bulky napkins which produce unsightly bulges under wearing apparel.

It is therefore an object of the invention to provide a sanitary napkin of a double tapered shape formed in a convenient manner by folding an absorbent pad from a single strip or sheet of absorbent material in such a manner so as not only to achieve a taper. but to achieve an increased ahsorbability based on a combination of holes in an upper layer forming absorption wells and embossed downwardly extending ribs forming distributing grooves in an intermediate layer. The entire pad is protected by use of a barrier shield in the form of a thin film of fluid-impervious plastic which may be either disposed as a sheet below the pad or may encapsulate the pad with the exception of a suitable opening on the upper face of the pad which faces the body of the wearer.

Still further objects and features of the invention rcside in the provision of a sanitary napkin that is effective in use. simple to manufacture, attractive in appearance and capable of being worn without creating unsightly bulges under wearing apparel.

'I'hcse. together with various ancillary objects and features of the invention will become apparent as the following description proceeds. are attained by this sanitary napkin. a preferred embodiment of which is illustrated in the accompanying drawing. by way of example only, wherein:

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF- THE DRAWINGS FIG. 1 is a top plan view of the pad prior to folding;

FIG. 2 is an enlarged vertical sectional view taken along the plane of line 2-2 in FIG. 1;

FIG. 3 is a vertical sectional view taken along the plane of line 33 in FIG. 1',

FIG. 4 is an enlarged vertical sectional view through the pad after it has been folded;

FIG. 5 is a plan view of the pad with parts thereof being broken away to show other parts in section; and

FIG. 6 is a vertical view taken along the plane of line 6-6 in FIG. 5.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT With continuing reference to the accompanying drawings, wherein like reference numerals designate similar parts throughout the various view, reference numeral 10 is used to generally designate the absorbent pad which is formed from a strip or sheet having two end portions 12 and I4 and a middle or central portion I6.

The end portion [2 is provided with a plurality of upwardly extending ribs 18 embossed therein defining grooves 20 in the under surface of the section 12. The end section 14 is provided with a plurality of rows of holes 22 therethrough. the rows being staggered. The pad 10 is then folded to a position as shown in FIG. 4 with the unworked upon center section 16 forming the lower layer. The end sections l2 and 14 are of less length than the central section 16. the section 12 is folded onto overlying relationship on the section l6 with the end 24 thereof terminating well short of the end 26 of the middle section 16, and as a result of the folding the ribs 18 extend downwardly so that the grooves 20 define between their upwardly extending ribs 30.

The end section [4 is folded to overlie a portion of the middle section 16 and a portion of the end section 12 with the end 32 thereof terminating short of the end 34 of the end section 12 and middle section l6. The holes 22 therefore communicate with the grooves 20.

As folded and shown in FIG. 4, a three-ply pad is achieved in which the top ply 14 is so arranged that the holes 22 will receive the maximum flow of menstrual fluid and facilitate that this fluid quickly be absorbed by the pad. Normally fluid would puddle at the top and center portions ofa pad thereby reducing the efficiency of the pad, but the holes 22 direct the fluid inwardly of the pad for rapid distribution in grooves 20. The holes 22 thus form absorption wells and allow fluid to pass downwardly rapidly and to be absorbed quickly into the center section of the pad. This will be similar to a fast flow of water from a garden hose on a lawn. The water would normally form a pool which would remain until absorbed. However. holes punched into the soil allow water to reach the lower layer of absorbing soil and therefore the water is quickly drawn from the surface preventing puddling and formation of a pool.

By use of the embossed center layer. fluid is distributed over a greater area rapidly thus extending the useful life of the napkin. namely the wearing time thereof.

The pad is made of absorbent compressed cellulosic fibers which act as capillaries and fluid migrates quickly along the grooves and these grooves form channels for receiving quantities of fluid during periods of heavy discharge even before absorption.

After the pad is folded to the configuration as shown in FIG. 4, it will then be cut or shaped so that the pad achieves a double ogive shape as indicated at 36 and 38 in FIG. 5. This shape, together with the location of the ends of the middle and upper plies, produce a double taper for the napkin thereby conforming to body contour. As a result, a less revealing napkin is possible which is more desirable than a thick bulky napkin that would produce unsightly bulges under wearing apparel.

For maximum stain-through protection a thin sheet or film of synthetic water impervious plastic is used as a barrier shield, which may be in the form of a laminate on the pad and may either be disposed below the pad or preferably, not only below the pad, but to encapsulate the pad with the exception of an opening 40 facing the body of the wearer, the shielding being designated by the reference numeral 42. The opening 40 is directly above the holes 22 and the impervious film 42 offers a maximum protection against the staining of the clothes of the wearer.

The entire pad is wrapped in soft strong line bonded non-woven fabric 46 generally of a rectangular shape.

It is to be understood that this invention is equally applicable to baby diapers, surgical dressings, and incon tinent pads as well as sanitary napkins,

A latitude of modification, substitution and change in intended in the foregoing disclosure, and in some instances some features of the invention may be cmployed without a corresponding use of other features.

What is claimed is:

l. A body fluid absorbent pad adapted for contact with body areas comprising a central portion and first and second end portions said portions being longitudinally joined to each other by transverse folds to form a three-ply stacked absorbent means, said first end por tion defining an upper body contacting ply having a plurality of discreet fluid contacting holes there through, said second end portion defining an intermediate ply having a plurality of fluid directing emboss ment ribs communicating with said holes, said central portion defining an absorbent bottom ply.

2. An absorbent pad according to claim I wherein said end portions are shorter than said central portion.

3. An absorbent pad according to claim 1 wherein said pad is vertically and horizontally tapered at the ends thereof.

4. An absorbent pad according to claim 1 further including a fluid impervious sheet around a substantial portion of said pad including said bottom ply.

5. The absorbent pad of claim 1 comprising a baby diaper.

6. The absorbent pad of claim 1 comprising a surgical dressing.

7. The absorbent pad of claim 1 comprising an incontinent pad.

8. The absorbent pad of claim I comprising a sanitary napkin.

9. An absorbent pad according to claim I wherein said embossment ribs are longitudinally disposed. 

1. A body fluid absorbent pad adapted for contact with body areas comprising a central portion and first and second end portions said portions being longitudinally joined to each other by transverse folds to form a three-ply stacked absorbent means, said first end portion defining an upper body contacting ply having a plurality of discreet fluid contacting holes there through, said second end portion defining an intermediate ply having a plurality of fluid directing embossment ribs communicating with said holes, said central portion defining an absorbent bottom ply.
 2. An absorbent pad according to claim 1 wherein said end portions are shorter than said central portion.
 3. An absorbent pad according to claim 1 wherein said pad is vertically and horizontally tapered at the ends thereof.
 4. An absorbent pad according to claim 1 further including a fluid impervious sheet around a substantial portion of said pad including said bottom ply.
 5. The absorbent pad of claim 1 comprising a baby diaper.
 6. The absorbent pad of claim 1 comprising a surgical dressing.
 7. The absorbent pad of claim 1 comprising an incontinent pad.
 8. The absorbent pad of claim 1 comprising a sanitary napkin.
 9. An absorbent pad according to claim 1 wherein said embossment ribs are longitudinally disposed. 